The Government will fail to meet its 2030 clean energy goals or its 2050 target for decarbonised buildings without a major overhaul of the UK’s workforce, the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee has warned.
The Committee says that consumer incentives alone cannot deliver the transition and that immediate public funding is needed to expand the supply of skilled workers.
With an estimated 250,000 additional workers required for new housing alone, the report highlights that retrofit will demand even more labour.
After repeated failures in earlier Government-backed insulation schemes, MPs are calling for a new, nationally recognised construction and retrofit skills programme supported by industry.
The Committee notes that the energy transition could generate between 135,000 and 725,000 net jobs within four years but most will require retraining.
It also accepts that specific skilled workers may need to be brought in from overseas in the short term while domestic capacity is built.
Bill Esterson MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “It is essential that we build the workforce for the energy transition so that the Government can hit its clean energy targets and, importantly, ensure that the UK makes the most of the growth opportunity of the century.
“The Committee has found that market forces alone cannot overcome the skills gap. We need policy certainty for the long-term, locally directed investment in training, and policies that make clean energy careers attractive and accessible.”
The report calls for conditions favouring local skilled labour to be built into Contracts for Difference, alongside expanded skills passports and strengthened roles for local authorities in retrofit delivery.
It also urges clarity on levies, EPC reforms and the Warm Homes Plan to give industry the long-term certainty needed to invest.
Without decisive action, the Committee warns that both climate targets and economic opportunities are at risk.
MPs warns clean energy targets will be missed without skills overhaul appeared first on Energy Live News.